Moving the Discussion Forward

Cloud services shift is really happening

By Christian Morin

Dec 01, 2017

Only a few years ago, the inevitable shift to all
things Cloud was met with guarded optimism.
But today, the shift is really happening. Beyond
storage, the cloud is benefitting our security
industry with cloud-based services, otherwise
known as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). That’s because end users
are increasingly seeking easier and more affordable ways to manage
infrastructure growth, become more connected, remain agile,
and access emerging technologies.

From government agencies and universities to retailers and
transportation hubs, customers are seeing greater value in a
full-service cloud offering. These organizations are looking at
solutions outside their own environment to lower costs and
take the strain off their resources. They are turning to experts
and outsourcing tasks including server maintenance, software
upgrades and cyber security, understanding these are intrinsically
not their core competency. And, they are buying the solutions
and these all-encompassing services with minimal upfront
investment. This article will show how the cloud offering has
evolved in the security industry and what this active shift means
for customers and integrators.

A Closer Look at the Evolution of SaaS

At Genetec, some of the first real-life applications we offered included
extending storage in the cloud for on-premises systems.
Without having to procure and maintain expensive servers or get
IT teams involved, security teams used cloud services to increase
their storage capacity, hold video for longer periods of time, or
even build backups. In case of floods, fires, or unexpected events,
the cloud storage served as an integral component in their disaster
recovery programs.

While these services are still readily available, our strategy
is wholly focused on offering the full extent of our capabilities
in the cloud and pushing innovation forward with new cloudbased
solutions.

The intent is to provide the customer with more value by
eliminating a lot of the unnecessary costs in managing the infrastructure.

Whether that includes updating software, managing
servers, increasing or decreasing capacity based on needs, cloud
services enable customers to reduce costs and become more
adaptable to change.

Furthermore, the innate connectivity and elasticity of the
cloud allow us to democratize enterprise solutions, making them more readily accessible and affordable to
the masses. In other words, our innovation
is not limited to larger enterprises that
have the budgets and technical resources
to keep systems optimized. From video
surveillance and access control systems to
decision support and evidence management
applications, small or medium-sized
business or those with limited resources
can access these technologies with minimal
upfront investment, for any duration
of time.

In fact, it’s one of the biggest perks of
the SaaS model. From an investment perspective,
the customer can significantly reduce
the initial capital outlay by opting for
a SaaS solution.

The purchase shifts from being a large
capital expense to a more predictable operational
cost. There is also less perceived
risk in the SaaS model. Instead of the onetime
buy with hope for the best long-term
outcome, organizations can subscribe to
the solution on a shorter-term basis. If
the customer is unsatisfied, or no longer
needs the software, they can easily deactivate
service. The true risk is transferred
to the provider, who now must take onus
for the solution and its promise to deliver
value within the organization. It’s important
to clarify that SaaS is not limited to
the cloud.

SaaS is a software subscription model
that can also be offered as an on-premises
deployment with a level of cloud connectivity.
Take Microsoft Office 365 for
example; the application is installed and
running on a local computer but still connected
to the cloud for updates.

Why Hybrid Cloud Installs
Will Remain Mainstream

Due to the nature of certain applications,
there will always be a need for onpremises
installations. Some organizations
will want to maintain certain systems or
components on site. It’s why we often see
customers opting for hybrid cloud applications.
The hybrid cloud model allows organizations
to self-host and maintain their
systems while adding certain applications
in the cloud. In certain cases, this could
be driven by the need for extra storage, as
mentioned earlier.

In other cases, the customer may want
to access cloud-based capabilities such
as investigation management. In this instance,
the sheer connectivity of the cloud
allows many stakeholders such as security
departments, outside agencies, and the
public, to share evidence and speed up investigations.
To build this level of collaboration
on-premises would be an extremely
costly and challenging task.

Simply put, complementing on-premises
systems with cloud services is an easy
and affordable way for organizations to
access capabilities that otherwise would
be out of reach. The same principle
holds true for a multi-site access control
system. Cloud-based access control services
facilitate a central database which
can be accessed by many sites. With the
cloud, access to technology becomes
broadly accessible.

How Integrators Will
Adapt to Cloud Services

So, what does this all mean for integrators?
There is significant value in providing
managed services, but the business
model changes. Instead of receiving one
large payment for services rendered, an
integrator can now expand their recurring
revenue stream. The relationship with the
customer will also evolve, whereby integrator
will become the trusted advisor
over longer-term contracts.

This creates an opportunity for the
integrator to provide more value by suggesting
ways of making multiple SaaS solutions
work together or complementing
SaaS solutions with contracts for managed
services and bundled hardware. The
integrator can even take on a more integral
part of growth strategy, risk assessments
or general improvements to help
customer reach business outcomes.

Moving Innovation
Ahead in the Cloud

Whether we realize it or not, cloud services
is something most of us use daily in
our personal endeavours. From Netflix to
Amazon and online banking, we all interact
with SaaS applications. Because of
this, more individuals expect the same experience
in their worklife. They want more
modern apps, frequent updates, greater
flexibility, and they want it now.

Therefore, it only makes sense that
more organizations are eagerly seeking out
these pay-as-you-go services. Beyond easing
stress on IT and security departments,
SaaS helps them stay adaptable and open
to new technologies and reduce costs.

This article originally appeared in the December 2017 issue of Security Today.